The experiment with seeds buried in soil has been carried out for 63 alpine plant species from the Northwest Caucasus. Seeds were mixed with native soils and placed in soil at the depth of 8-10 cm for five years. After excavation, seeds of 45 species did not germinate at all. Viability of eight species, four Carex species among them, exceeded 10%. These species are typical of Geranium-Hedysarum meadows and alpine snowbeds and form the main part of soil seed banks in these communities.
Source

Elumeeva T.G.,Moscow State University | Onipchenko V.G.,Moscow State University | Egorov A.V.,State University of South Dacota | Khubiev A.B.,Karachai Cherkessian Ud Aliev State University | And 3 more authors.Alpine Botany | Year: 2013